Wow, can't say that I've seen a "reply" so directed to someone in the years I've been reading the posts here. Chill pills come to mind. There are a few topics that go sideways real quick, this one comes out of left field. After a short time, members kind of know how some are going to comment or post opinions. It's your choice to read them and to answer or not. I read most, but if I don't agree, I only talk to myself with cross words, not post to the world. I may not agree with all of what Norm says, or anybody else for that matter, as my life and thoughts/experiences are different, but I can certainly understand where his thoughts are coming from... his life. Many here have enjoyed them and maybe benefited from them to some degree. So I have to agree with a few others here, Steve, you've kind of stepped over the line with your response. Sorry mods, you can remove this post if you think it's over the top, my button was pushed.

I should be one of the last people on Earth to be concerned about the use of time. Life has generally gone very well. Like all people, one eventually sees the end coming and we are nearing that point, emphasized by the more frequent passing of friends.

My author/editor friend, almost 20 years older than me, died a few years ago. She was decidedly different than me and held great interest for me because of the differences. We regularly had lunch and drinks together, she leaned on me for computer knowledge and I gladly helped her edit books. In bits and drabs she challenged my thinking and fed me her views. I do miss her. She once told me that as you age, as you see life winding down, you will 'focus more on what you love'.

You might think that my focus is traveling about in our little Scamp 16. The reality is it's the selfish focus on Ginny. Our Scamp and the travels are a method.

Back to my friend Jeannette, we had differences. We were polar opposites politically. However I embraced those differences for they were well considered and sincere, seeking their source.

I am decidedly interested in what I am not, possibly because it allows me have a bigger view of the possible. To me that suggests not doing more of the same. It is easy to let the past burden the future. Certainly it is key to choose. My dad used to say "Make good choices". It is the last word that is critical, some people do not even consciously choose.

As we empty our pass I'm amazed by how easy it was particularly for Ginny to discard things while she holds the memory. I'm always wonder at the unseen part of people.

It's Sunday, new friends are visiting today and Monday. They are people from Yuma that have joined the NL Caravan and happen to be in the area. On Tuesday Scamp Camp people are coming. Chances to see more views of the world.

For anyone that is going to ship some of their "stuff" to the kids, etc., I suggest looking at the cost with the post office and UPS which can be done online at their websites. For my son, he in Fayetteville, NC and UPS is affordable but my brother lives in MI in sort of the "sticks" and UPS is much more expensive than USPS. Either way, it can be sticker shock so hold onto the counter while waiting for your total.

I have always sought out diversity in the people I talk with and the friends I have. Moving around and traveling make that explode like fireworks. I have a couple of select friends who can express any opinion and have immunity from ever being excommunicated from my life. One really takes it as far as she can go with it but we have been friends since 8th grade (1967-68).

I used to do a lot of things but their time passed. My garden is a basil plant and my crafts a little Zoom Loom, more or less but still reducing in that area. There was movie called "Short Circuit" with a robot and the robot had a line "Need more input." Me too!

It appears after all of these years together that Ginny is still surprising Norm.
Sweet!

I do understand about the winding down and looking at the time you have left but still, so many people never got nearly the years that I have. When I was in my early 30s, one morning when leaving for work on icy roads I told my husband, "Even if I were killed today, I have done more living than most people do in their lifetime." Sounds horrible but really, it has always left me with a peaceful feeling.

I really want to get my son with Down syndrome out as he loves being out and around people and that will never be accomplished in any program for people like himself. He keeps dragging around the dog-eared Scamp brochure. We'll figure it out.

So, diversity is good. I know that too often people rigidly define a certain lifestyle. Full-timing is one. We joined Escapees years ago and were constantly told that we needed to work, retire and then we would "deserve" the full-timing lifestyle. I deserve whatever I can work to gain for myself. It was so discouraging but we worked it out. And, then, you have the you need at least "$3,000" a month to full-time. We lived for years, recently, with a household income less than that. I have also seen spats where someone that was renting out their house and living full-time in an RV was considering themselves full-timers and others disputing it because they still owned a house.

The bottom line is that everyone is free to define their lifestyle. There is no "one size fits all". Just because I don't want to sit among my things until my older son shows up to take me to the "home" and my stuff sits in boxes ready for auction but many people do it and are content coming to that end. The first auction I seen like that was in 1978 and I was so upset by it I guess it marked me for life.

I used to have a young technician who worked for me who would not eat a candy bar until he performed some balancing task like washing his windows. Like your comment he had to "deserve" the candy bar.

As to the $3000 per month requirement, it's really a choice as Oregon Byron states so clearly. How much you spend RVing is in good measure a choice. I have never tried to be a 'spending minimalist' but it might be a good experiment. I do like to experiment on the edge... we've given up meat for a month, built and lived in a dome, and of course quit working and traveled in an RV. Maybe a zoom loom is next.

Cathy, what have you made? Maybe I'll start a hobby thread for little RVs.

I am on my first Zoom Loom project, a lap afghan. I am using the basic pattern stitch but I have made some samples of other stitch patterns which can be found by googling. I am crocheting an edge on the plain pattern but won't with the fancier patterns. Anything that could be made with squares would be a possibility on one of the googled videos, someone has figured out how to make a triangle with the loom. This turns out much lighter than regular crochet or knit. Variegated yarn is exceptionally nice as are coordinating colors.

I was born a minimalist and frugal. I am blaming it on my Scotch-Irish grandfather and debt-free for years because of it so I am not complaining. It is a mindset and something that doesn't waiver much despite the amount of cash coming in. I have squirreled money away since I was a small child and considered all purchases carefully.

One thing people don't consider is cost of living as they move around the different states. We can live on much less in KS or in SE AL when we were living there.

We are "in the market" now but have a pop-up. We might be able to stop in at the next rally in KS, my husband is originally from Junction City, KS so it would be a nice, but short, trip for us but give us a chance to see some units. It is hard to decide which and whether to go new or used.

A stimulating conversation! Norm, I've given much thought to a "Time Budget" ever since I read Stephen Covey's book "The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". He claims that we spend our time on four types of activities: Unimportant and Non-Urgent (think watching TV, snacking, browsing the internet), Unimportant and Urgent (running the dishwasher when you finally run out of clean dishes), Important and Non-Urgent (spending time with SO/family/friends, hobbies you love, volunteer work, etc.), and Important and Urgent (get to the ER if you're having chest pain). The problem is that most of us spend too much of our time allowance on the Unimportant and Non-Urgent stuff and too little on the Important and Non-Urgent. He suggest you actually keep track of how you use your time to see where you're spending your "allowance".

Lately my husband and I have been thinking more about how we could unburden ourselves of home ownership responsibilities. Even though we downsized about 7 years ago from a house on 5 acres with a large garden to a manufactured home in an "over 55" complex we still find ourselves increasingly resentful of all the chores - keeping up the much smaller garden, painting the doors, repairing some rotten trim, getting a new roof put on, fixing a leak under the house. And soon it will be new carpeting. Or we'll need a new dishwasher, fridge or furnace. It's always something!

We've been doing some analysis of the costs of renting versus owning a home and it looks like we would actually save money, taking in the fact that we could put the proceeds of selling our house into our investment portfolio. Even a small return on that money could cover most of our rent. And gone would be home maintenance, property taxes and some utilities (in our county the property owner pays for water/sewer and garbage collection).

The problem for us is that we really like our house and our neighborhood, so leaving it would be difficult. We're giving it some serious thought though! Everyone needs to find what works for them. No one way is the right way!

When we first visited the Escapee park we thought, a very reasonable choice as we get older. It costs less than $2000 a year plus electricity for us to live there, provides the wi-fi, cuts the grass, keeps the pool, cleans the clubhouse, provides RV storage... It costs even less if you're living in your RV.

It has activities galore but best the people are really nice. To be sure we stopped by the park each year for various amounts of time to get to know the people.

"The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People". He claims that we spend our time on four types of activities: Unimportant and Non-Urgent (think watching TV, snacking, browsing the internet), Unimportant and Urgent (running the dishwasher when you finally run out of clean dishes), Important and Non-Urgent (spending time with SO/family/friends, hobbies you love, volunteer work, etc.), and Important and Urgent (get to the ER if you're having chest pain).

Each of these categories often have the phrase "required" following them. For some Unimportant and Non-Urgent (watching football games all Sunday) can be "required".

What is needed? What is the alternative?

It's so easy to develop a routine that in retrospect does not have the value accorded. This year, we shedded traditional cable TV, becoming more focused and doing condensed watching (no commercials). Our travels also result in the shedding of a lot of families, friends and hobbies due to our absence another subtle benefit.

We are Escapee members and they have interesting options. Until retirement age, we are tied to Kansas because of the services for my son. Just a bump in the road. Hoping to put together volunteering at the parks here to begin with once things shape up a little more. We have looked at the possibility of ERPU sites - hope I got the letters right.

One thing I have noticed from another non-RV forum is that so many people are glued to the internet talking about how bad life is, can't find a mate, someone called them a name on FB, they are bored, the "poor me" attitude and I tell them to stop focusing on themselves, take a walk outside and find a "passion". To me, if you don't have a "passion", you are just breathing. I know a lot of people like this and, of course, they think I am just really out there and, they are probably right!

A couple of times, my husband just quit his job and we moved somewhere that we wanted to live instead. People were blown away. We had the savings to do it and are willing to do any job to bring in income (legal) and we landed on our feet. So many things are possible IF you do your homework.

The Escapee organization has always given consideration to the needs of it's older members. This is the primary reason for CO-OPs and ERPU sites. CO-OP Parks are owned by individual members, all active Escapee members.

ERPU sites are in RV Parks owned by the Escapee Corporation. (For older members Escapees has an assisted living center in Livingston, TX where members can live in their RV with virtually all services provided for less than you'd pay to stay in a most campground for a month.)

Escapee ERPU sites are a good deal. You put $12-15,000 down for a site. You get to use it for 5 years. At the end of 5 years the money is returned to you (or you can extend for $1). Outside of lost interest on your money, your only costs are an annual maintenance fee of no more than $750 a year and electricity.

The weakness of ERPU compared to the CO-OP Parks is the amenities and number of participants are less. THe CO-OP maintenance fees are greater ($1300 in our case). ERPU sites are usually available immediately. As well some of the CO-OP parks have immediately availability. Most of the parks tend to be in warmer climates though not all.

Our home site is in Wauchula, FL.Resort. Non Escapees that are friends of members are allowed to stay for a week to give it a try on a space available basis. Various levels of services are available from boondocking ($5), Electricity and water ($11) and full hook up ($18).

Personally being intelligently out there, be willing to step outside, to feel strong enough to make different choices, is a fine choice and can indicate confidence and strength.

Many people are unknowingly trapped by where they are and never consider a different plan. I've had friends who were laid off and could not leave they lived because of this and that even though their were good job opportunities else where.

Ginny's reading a facebook article on how to organize small spaces in Tiny Houses. Those tiny houses are typically mansions compared to our Scamp 16. Shortly our house will be sold and this will be our home.

Certainly it is important to organize well, it's more important and necessary to have less to organize. I've been blessed because Ginny never complains about what we don't have, but revels in what we do have.

Our trailer's door faces due east, just a little after Sunrise, and low tide, rather significant tides here looking at our Sunset Point backyard..

Though not desert AZ the night skys are pretty dark here as well.

Very happy to be on the road. Happier when this is the limits of our summer home.

There are seasons in life. Time is a finite resource. I used to spend spare time gardening, golfing and woodworking. All activities that the kids could share with in some manner. They are now grown and gone. As we rise to senior levels at work, more time is spent on work responsibilities - even when we are at home. The garden is now grass and landscape plants. The golf clubs sit collecting dust except for the occasional social round. The woodworking tools sit idle waiting for the rare repair project. It's not that those activities aren't good or important, it's just that they aren't a priority anymore. Work and grandkids are now allocated the available time. Next year there will no longer be any time allocated to work. Will that time be replaced with gardening, golfing and woodwork? Nope. It will be allocated for travel, kids and grandkids. It's the season.

norm, I LOVE your writing & thoughts about life! don't change a thing, just because 1 person missed the symbolism. you really should put these together in a book. I don't know what you'd call it - life musings? on the road with norm & ginny?
eagerly awaiting your next post,
sharon